Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B60R19/00—Wheel guards; Radiator guards, e.g. grilles; Obstruction removers; Fittings damping bouncing force in collisions
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B60R19/00—Wheel guards; Radiator guards, e.g. grilles; Obstruction removers; Fittings damping bouncing force in collisions
  • B60R2019/005—Crash attenuators, i.e. means added to highway service vehicles for softening high speed impacts

Definitions

• the present invention relates to vehicle mounted crash attenuators, and in particular to arrangements for facilitating transport of such crash attenuators Vehicle mounted crash attenuators such as those described in
• Leonhardt U S Patent 6,092,959 are commonly used in highway repair and construction Heavy vehicles such as trucks, sweepers, and other moving vehicles are positioned in front of a work zone to protect workers in the work zone from oncoming traffic
• Vehicle mounted crash attenuators are mounted to face oncoming traffic, in order to protect an oncoming vehicle in the event of a collision with the truck
• Such vehicle mounted crash attenuators are deployed to a horizontal position in use, and they are often pivoted to a vertical position for transport
• Modern vehicle mounted crash attenuators hav - a substantial length, and when such a crash attenuator is pivoted to a vertical position for transport, it may extend vertically to a substantial height that prevents the vehicle from traveling under overpasses, through door openings, and the like
• the preferred embodiments described below include a vehicle mounted crash attenuator having first and second bays interconnected by a rotational joint
• An actuator is coupled between the first and second bays to move the second bay between a deployed position, in which the first and second bays are aligned horizontally, and a retracted position, in which the second bay is rotated about the rotational joint by a rotation angle greater than 90° with respect to the deployed position
• the second bay is arranged to overlie the first bay when in the retracted position
• the horizontal length of this crash attenuator can be substantially reduced for transport, without increasing the overall height of the retracted crash attenuator excessively
• Figure 1 is a perspective view of a vehicle mounted crash attenuatoi that incorporates a preferred embodiment of tins invention, positioned in a deployed position
• Figure 2 is a side view of the crash attenuator of Figure 1 in the deployed position
• Figures 3, 4 and 5 are side views corresponding to Figure 2, showing the second bay of the crash attenuator as it is raised progressively to the fully retracted position of Figure 5
• FIGs 6-9 are detailed side views of central portions of the crash attenuator of Figure 1 in the positions of Figures 2-5, respectively
• Figure 10 is a schematic diagram showing the second bay 18 of Figure 1 in two alternative positions
• Figures 1 1 and 12 are perspective views of selected components of a second preferred embodiment in the partially retracted and fully retracted positions, respectively
• Figure 13 is a sectional view through the elements of Figures 1 1 and 12 in the deployed position
• Figure 14 is a schematic side view of another vehicle mounted crash attenuator
• FIG. 1 shows a vehicle mounted crash attenuator 10 mounted in place behind a truck T
• the crash attenuator 10 includes a first bay 12 having a front end 14 and a back end 16, and a second bay 18 having a front end 20 and a back end 22
• the first and second bays 12, 18 include respective upper portions 24, 26, and the back end 22 of the second bay 18 defines a lower edge 28
• the front end 14 of the first bay 12 is mounted to the truck T by a mounting arrangement 30, that can for example be a rigid, fixed mounting arrangement
• the first bay 12 is cantilevered from the truck T, and the first bay 12 remains in a fixed orientation with respect to the tiuck T in both the deployed and reti acted positions discussed below
• the mounting anangement 30 may allow the first bay 12 to pivot about a horizontal pivot axis 90 with respect to the truck T ( Figure 14)
• first and second bays 12, 18 can be constructed as described in Leonhardt U S Patent 6,092,959, assigned to the Assignee of the present invention and hereby incorporated by reference As described in this patent, one or both of the bays may include an energy absorbing element, though such elements are not shown in Figure 1 for clanty of illustration
• the back end 16 of the first bay 12 is secured to the front end 20 of the second bay 18 by a rotational joint 40 that defines a rotational axis 42 As best shown in Figure 6, in this embodiment the rotational axis 42 extends horizontally and is positioned adjacent the upper portions 24, 26
• an actuator 50 is mounted between the back end 6 of the first bay 12 and the front end 20 of the second bay 18
• the actuator 50 takes the form of a hydraulic ram that is mourted to the back end 16 of the first bay 12 at a lower pivot 52, and that is mounted to first and second links 56,58 at an upper pivot 54
• the first link 56 in turn is pivotably connected to the back end 16 of the first bay 12
• the second link 58 is pivotably connected to the front end 20 of the second bay 18
• the elements 50 through 58 are duplicated on both sides of the crash attenuator 10 to provide symmetrical forces tending to rotate the second bay 18 about the rotational axis 42
• FIGs 2 and 6 show the crash attenuator 10 in a deployed position
• Each of the bays 12, 18 defines a respective longitudinal axis 66, 68 ( Figure 2) and in the deployed position of Figure 2 the longitudinal axes 66, 68 are substantially parallel to one another and oriented substantially horizontally (i e parallel to the roadway supporting the truck)
• the reference symbol 64 designates a rotation angle that will be used as a measure of the rotational position of the second bay 18 with respect to the first bay 12 about the rotational axis 42
• the rotation angle 64 takes the value of 0°
• the reference symbol 70 designates a vertical plane passing through the mounting arrangement 30 forward of the first bay 12, and both the first and second bays 12, 18 are disposed entirely rearwardly of the vertical plane 70 when the crash attenuator 10 is in the deployed position of Figure 2
• the reference symbol 72 is used to indicate a plane passing through the rotational axis 42 and oriented transversely to the longitudinal axis 66
• Figures 3 and 7 show a side view corresponding to that of Figure 2, in which the actuator 50 has been extended partially to raise the second bay 18
• the angle 64 is about 55°
• Figures 4 and 8 show the crash attenuator 10 at another, more advanced stage in the retraction of the second bay 18
• the actuator 50 has been extended until the rotation angle 64 is about 120° (Figure 8)
• Figure 4 shows the crash attenuator 10 at another, more advanced stage in the retraction of the second bay 18
• the actuator 50 has been extended until the rotation angle 64 is about 120° (Figure 8)
• the lower edge 28 has moved forwardly of the plane 72 ( Figure 4)
• the second bay 18 is characterized by a depth a and a length b
• the partially-retracted attenuator has a height h
• Further rotation has the effect of lifting the lower edge 28 until the lower edge 28 crosses the plane 72, after which the lower edge 28 begins to move downwardly
• FIGS. 5 and 9 show the crash attenuator 10 in the fully retracted position, in which the actuator 50 has been extended to the point where the rotation angle 64 is approximately equal to 180° ( Figure 9).
• the lower edge 28 is positioned substantially forwardly of the plane 72, on the same side of the plane 72 as the front end 14 of the first bay 12 ( Figure 5)
• the back end 22 of the second bay 18 is positioned adjacent to and overlying the front end 14 of the first bay 12, and the upper portions 24, 26 face one another.
• the first upper portion 24 continues to face upwardly (since it has not been rotated from the position of Figures 1 and 2), and the second upper portion 26 now faces downwardly, toward the first bay 12.
• the second bay 18 rests upon and is supported by the first bay 12. Also, both of the first and second bays 12, 18 are still located entirely behind the vertical plane 70.
• the second bay 18 can be moved with the actuator 50 from the retracted position of Figures 5 and 9 to the deployed position of Figures 1 , 2 and 6 for use.
• the second bay 18 is rotated by about 180° with respect to the first bay 12 in the retracted position of Figures 5 and 9 as compared to the deployed position of Figures 2 and 6
• the second bay 18 is not rotated to such a large extent
• the second bay 18 may be rotated by 145°, 155°, 165° or 175° with respect to the first bay 12
• the second bay 18 may be rotated by more than 180°, if the rotational axis is positioned such that the back end 22 is lower than the front end 20 in the retracted position
• the second bay is rotated by more than 90° between the deployed and retracted positions
• rotation angles greater than 145° provide the advantage of reducing the overall height of the folded crash attenuator as compared to a folded crash attenuator of the same dimensions that is folded only by a rotation angle of 90° (as in the prior art discussed above) For this reason, the second bay 18 in the retracted position is
• the crash attenuator can include more than two bays, and the bays themselves may vary widely in construction
• bays of the type described in the following U S Patents can all be adapted for use with this invention June U S Pat 5,642,792, Gertz U S Pat 5,248, 129, Gertz U S Pat 5, 199,577, Krage U S Pat 4,71 1 ,481 , Fritton U S Pat 4,635,981 ,
• the actuator can include cable extending between the second bay and the truck and some means such as a winch or the like for pulling the cables to rotate the second bay to the retracted position
• the retracted position may leave the second bay somewhat angled with respect to the underlying first bay, rather than in the overlying substantially parallel position shown in the drawings
• the fully deployed position is characterized by a rotation angle of 1 70° or 1 75° this may reduce the strain on the linkage and the actuator
• the system is designed such that there is no load on the actuators or the links when the second bay is in either the deployed or the fully retracted position
• the following details of consttuction have been found suitable when the first and second bays 12, 18 a " re implemented in accordance with the disclosure of U S Patent 6,092,959
• FIGS. 1 1 -13 show selected components of a best mode example
• the illustrated components of Figures 1 1 and 12 include a frame
• the frames 1 16, 1 18 are rotatably interconnected by a rotational joint 100, and the position of the frame 1 18 (and therefore the second bay) is determined by actuators, which in this example take the form of hydraulic cylinders 1 14 As best shown in
• each hydraulic cylinder 1 14 is connected by a first link 1 10 to the frame 1 16 and by a second link 1 12 to the frame 1 18
• Figure 12 shows the manner in which the frame 1 16 includes a pair of vertically oriented, spaced, parallel plates 120 disposed on opposite sides of each of the hydraulic cylinders 1 14 Similarly, the frame 1 18 includes a pair of vertically oriented, spaced, parallel plates 122, each disposed outwardly of a respective one of the plates 120 As shown in Figure 12, when the frame 1 18 is positioned in the f ully retracted position, each hydraulic cylinder 1 14 is at least partially received between the respective plates 120 Similarly, as shown in Figure 13, when the hydraulic cylinders 1 14 move the second frame 1 18 to the deployed position, the hydraulic cylinders 1 14 are received between and protected by the respective plates 120 In this way, the hydraulic cylinders 1 14 are protected from damage from low velocity impacts, or from casual damage, for example in a highway work zone
• the energy absorbing elements of the first and second bays 12, 18 can be constructed as described for example in U S Patents 6,092,959 and 5, 199,755, assigned to the Assignee of the present invention and hereby incorporated by reference, and the material used to form individual cells can for example be sheet aluminum
• the actuator is a welded hydraulic cylinder (welded body) as opposed to a tie rod type hydraulic cylinder, because a welded cylinder has a smaller profile with smaller outside dimensions and is therefore more easily packaged
• a tie rod type cylinder can be used in alternative embodiments
• each bay is provided with upper and lower tie rods that extend across the bay (over and under the respective energy absorbing element 16, respectively). Each tie rod is anchored at each end to a side frame element
• each tie rod includes two overlapping parts held together by one or more shear pins such as bolts A force tending to collapse a bay places the tie rods of the bay in tension, and the shear pins are designed to fail at a selected tensile load on the tie rod. Once the shear pins fail, the hinges 34 on both sides of the bay are free to open, and the crash cushion operates as described in U S Patent 6,092,959.
• the main advantage of the tie rods described above is that they ensure that the hinges on both sides of a bay begin to rotate at the same time during a collision
• the crash attenuator 10 provides important advantages In the fully retracted position of Figure 5 the attenuator is short in length (measured horizontally from the truck T of Figure 1 ) as well as in height (measured vertically from the roadway that supports the truck T of Figure 1 ) This arrangement facilitates over the road transport of the raised crash attenuator 10, and it presents fewer height restrictions to movement of the truck T, even when the crash attenuator 10 is fully retracted
• position is intended broadly to encompass a range of positions
• front or “forward” are intended to mean closer to the vehicle on which a crash attenuator is mounted, and the terms “back” or “rear” are intended to mean farther away from the vehicle on which the crash attenuator is mounted

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Vibration Dampers (AREA)
• Refuge Islands, Traffic Blockers, Or Guard Fence (AREA)
• Aiming, Guidance, Guns With A Light Source, Armor, Camouflage, And Targets (AREA)
• Fluid-Damping Devices (AREA)

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• 2001
  • 2001-11-01 US US10/002,833 patent/US20030077119A1/en not_active Abandoned
• 2002
  • 2002-09-03 EP EP02766205A patent/EP1436465B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2002-09-03 CN CN02823821.4A patent/CN1596328A/zh active Pending
  • 2002-09-03 AT AT02766205T patent/ATE370277T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2002-09-03 WO PCT/US2002/027863 patent/WO2003029686A2/en active IP Right Grant
  • 2002-09-03 AU AU2002329948A patent/AU2002329948B2/en not_active Ceased
  • 2002-09-03 DE DE60221867T patent/DE60221867D1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2002-09-03 NZ NZ532481A patent/NZ532481A/en unknown
  • 2002-09-13 TW TW091121040A patent/TW568848B/zh not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2002-09-26 AR ARP020103639A patent/AR036641A1/es unknown
• 2003
  • 2003-07-28 US US10/628,319 patent/US6905282B2/en not_active Expired - Lifetime

Non-Patent Citations (2)

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